KNOWLEDGE ABOUT DIMMERS
You wake up to a light light that greets you without blowing the sleep out of the corners of your eyes and that matches the mild hues of the morning - you eat your breakfast, load the coffee machine and sit down at your workplace as you turn up the light - you clock out in the afternoon and give the light full throttle to give you the final boost to get through the wolf hour - and you turn down again when it's time to enjoy dinner and cozy up. Dimmers, dimmers and other lighting control systems were first invented to reduce power consumption at a time when incandescent bulbs dominated and electricity prices were high. A lot has happened and dimmers today can do much more than just save power. But which ones should you choose? Should the dimmer sit on the wire or should it be built into the socket? Which bulbs should you go for? The dimmer market can be a jungle, which is why we have gathered all the knowledge on this page to help you buy the right solution! Learn exactly how you can get the right lamp lighting control in your home!
LED dimmer
An LED dimmer actually comes in three variants: the one that's built into your designer lamp, the one that's retrofitted to your lamp's cord, and the one that sits alongside the socket on the wall. These are the main types - and we'll focus on the last two in this article as they are the ones you retrofit.
Both types work in the same way - but while the socket must be installed by an electrician, you can retrofit a dimmer to your lamp yourself. There are many different dimmers available, and below you can see the many options within dimmers - but how do you make sure you choose the right one - and how do you avoid the dreaded error where the LED bulb flashes when dimmed?
Calculate watts and choose the right dimmer
Choosing a dimmer is actually neither difficult nor complicated - but it does require that you know your bulbs and dimmers, and that you remember the most basic math from elementary school!
When choosing an LED dimmer, you may have noticed that there is a wattage value on the dimmer. It is usually written as an interval and could typically look like this:
LED Dimmer 5000 (4-250W)
But what does this number mean and what should you choose? The range should essentially be understood as a maximum and minimum - and when your LED bulbs flash with dimmer, it's most likely because they're shining at a lower intensity than the minimum set by the dimmer.
- Maximum is the maximum wattage that the dimmer can handle. This means that the bulb - or bulbs - you connect should never use more than 250W in this case - and it should be added that LED bulbs often use more power for a few seconds as they turn on than what is indicated on the bulb. 250W is a lot for LED bulbs, but remember that in some cases you may need more than one bulb in your lighting installation.
- Minimum is the minimum amount of power the bulbs use. This means that your bulb - or bulbs - must not use less than the minimum stated. For example, if you buy a 5W bulb and your dimmer goes down to a minimum of 4W, you can adjust your bulb strength between 4 and 5 watts. For example, if your LED bulb uses 3.5W, it will blink.
If your lighting installation contains more than one light bulb - or if you want to use your socket dimmer for more than one lamp with a single light source, for example - you need to calculate total watts.
This is done by taking the number of bulbs that are in what you want to dim and multiplying by the amount of watts they use. If your lamp uses four bulbs of 20W each, you need to multiply the 20W by four, which is 80W. Next, take the 80W that the bulbs use together and multiply by 1.25 to compensate for the extra power used for a few seconds when the bulbs turn on. This means that in this example you need a dimmer with a maximum value of 100W.
Dimmable LED bulb
Whether it's movie night, game night, a romantic dinner, or you just need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, dimmable LED bulbs are a great addition to your lighting arsenal - but how do you make sure you choose the right one? And can the one you choose work with your dimmer?
When dimming an LED bulb, there are really two ways to do it:
- Analog: when you adjust your dimmer to 10%, the dimmer throttles down the output of the bulb. This means that less power is sent to the light source, which dims the light.
- Wavelength modulation: when you adjust your dimmer to 10%, the time between switching the bulb on and off is shorter. LED bulbs work by turning themselves on and off incredibly fast, faster than the eye can perceive, and when the dimmer is set to 10%, the bulb is on for 10% of the time.
Both methods give the same result and the way the dimmer works doesn't matter to you, the user - but it's worth knowing how it works and why you can't use a traditional dimmer for your LED bulbs, just like you can't use an incandescent or halogen bulb with an LED dimmer. Furthermore, LED lights operate at much lower power than traditional bulbs.
The most important thing is that you choose an LED bulb that is dimmable. Not all LED bulbs are dimmable and you may have wondered why dimmable bulbs are more expensive than normal bulbs. A classic incandescent bulb can be dimmed by simply throttling down how much power is sent to it - an LED is not quite as simple. A dimmable LED - or dimmable LED - contains a circuit that allows the bulb to cope with the changing phase and changing current sent to it.
Therefore, always choose a dimmable LED bulb if the bulb is to be used with dimmable switches, lamps with built-in dimmers, etc.
However, you can use a dimmable bulb in a non-dimmable lamp.
3-stage dimmable bulbs
If you want the ability to adjust your light exactly to your needs - but don't want to have to get out your power toolbox - there are bulbs that are so smart that they can do the dimming job without a separate dimmer or dimmer switch.\ 3-step, or 3-stage dimmable bulbs, is the concept and is essentially a bulb that you can dim in three levels. The great thing about these little lights is that you can dim your lamp on your normal wall switch. You simply mount the bulb in the lamp and press your wall switch once, twice or three times to control the brightness.\ The advantage of these bulbs over a classic dimming solution is that you don't have to install new sockets or third-party dimmers on the wiring of your lamps. The advantage of 3-step over smart bulbs is that they do not consume power when the light is not on. A disadvantage of most smart bulbs is that they always consume power, as they are always connected to either your bridge or your smartphone.
**How to install a dimmer on the lamp cord
You are allowed to install a dimmer on your lamp's cord yourself, unlike if you want to make a hole in the wall for a new dimmable socket. The process is simple, but remember that the warranty will be voided if you start installing a dimmer. As always, the following rules of thumb apply; measure twice and cut once, and read the manual!
- Turn off the power and unplug the lamp - never work on lamps that are plugged in.
- Decide where on the lamp you would like to place the dimmer - make sure it's somewhere on the cord where it's easy to get to.
- Cut the cable! - and make sure you're cutting in the right place! Measure twice, cut once. Use a pair of pliers or similar.
- Strip the outer sheath of the wire - this reveals the two inner wires. Strip both the piece you cut and the piece that is now hanging from the lamp. We recommend that you strip about an inch of insulation.
- Open your damper and inspect! - Not all dampers are the same, so you should now open the damper and read the manual again. Find the positive and negative terminals.
- Strip the inner sheaths and mount - Once the bare copper is visible, roll it into a point with your fingers. Install the negative wire (typically blue) and the positive wire (typically brown) in the dimmer and use the strain relief if your dimmer has it. Make sure no copper touches copper, as this will create a short circuit. We recommend that you strip about one centimeter of insulation.
- Close the dimmer and test your installation - if everything works, your bulb should dim now!
**Dimmable incandescent and halogen bulbs
Halogen bulbs are now mostly found in refrigerators and headlights, and most incandescent bulbs have long since retired, unless they're in an oven or a retro-cool barn light. Both types of bulbs are no longer sold in the EU - but you may have an older, special bulb or lamp that you want to dim.
In case you have an older lamp with a built-in dimmer, you may have noticed that a modern LED bulb flashes when you install it - and that's because the dimming mechanism is designed to work with halogen or incandescent bulbs. That's why we recommend you contact your local lamp retailer to see if they have halogen bulbs in stock. The halogen bulb was banned in a 2018 EU directive - but it is not illegal as a retailer to sell a halogen bulb if you acquired it for your stock before 2018.
If everything goes wrong, you may be able to use an oven or fridge bulb - but you have to take into account that the light output will be reduced.
**Philips Hue Dimmer Switch
If you choose a smart bulb solution over traditional LED lighting, you don't have to worry about dimmers and dimmer switches as it's all controlled from your phone - but if you still need the simplicity of a dimmer on the wall, different smart bulb manufacturers make different solutions, and here we would like to highlight Philips Hue Dimmer Switch.
The elegant remote control and socket combination is wall-mounted and once connected to your other Philips Hue lighting system, the room lights are easily controlled with the dimmer switch. It attaches with double-sided tape and the switch itself is attached to the backplate you mount with magnets - so if you need to move around the house, it's easy to put in your pocket and take on adventures.